Posts by Sean Callahan
Surrendering Our Pair of “Ripped Jeans”
A number of years ago, a young girl recounted her fascination with ripped jeans. She had her own pair she bought for full price at Target. It baffled her brother as to why someone would go to the store and pay good money for a pair of ripped jeans. “But they’re in, they’re very in!”…
Read MoreHow Much Do You Want It?
Years ago, I engaged in a heated game of ultimate frisbee. During the match, one of the veteran players had the reputation for sprinting down the field, frisbee in hand, while crying aloud: “How much do you want it!?” Again and again, he’d shout throughout the game, “How much do you want it?!” Of course,…
Read MoreBecome the Womb Where Jesus can Be Born
Years ago, a middle-aged priest lived in Virginia. Life seemed to treat him well. He loved the community at his parish. The youth group he led seemed to be booming. He found himself in a happy rhythm. But then, the call came. The priest’s superior asked that the young man travel up to Boston and…
Read MoreHold Me
An infant whimpers. His mother smiles. She caresses and kisses him. He smiles back. She breaks his gaze and looks out into the night outside; she ponders. Her husband gathers the child in his arms and rocks him slowly; he sings to it softly. The child closes its eyes and returns to its slumber; it…
Read MoreMy Heart Is Restless Until It Rests in You: Where’s Your Heart?
Where’s your heart? Those are the words that spoke to me during a recent meditation when we heard Jesus explaining the difficulty behind a rich man entering the kingdom of heaven. Toward the end of that passage, the Apostles ask Jesus what they will receive as a reward for following Him. He responds in typical…
Read MoreWe Have Been Called — Will We Respond?
In today’s readings, we are reminded of our own holiness. St. Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish…
Read MoreBeg and Believe
Turn to God. Today’s Gospel invites us to practice confidence in the power of grace. In the first reading, we encounter the suffering of Job. We catch him at a moment when he seems to be at a loss. “Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me!…
Read MoreFamily First
The family is the building block of society. In today’s Gospel, Jesus makes a plug for the family. He enters the city of Nain and encounters a mother carrying out her son’s burial. The scene also chooses to give the reader another detail: the mother is a widow. But why? In these three details, we…
Read MoreChristus Vivit
“Speak, for your servant is listening (NABRE, 1 Sam 3:10). In today’s Gospel, we encounter Jesus’ words. They command the obedience of a demon and the attention of the crowd (Lk 4:32.36). His words leave the people stunned: “What is there about his word?” (Lk 4:36). What If? Now, what if we were there? What…
Read MoreShow Them Jesus
On October 9, 1859, a young girl by the name of Adele Brise encountered a beautifullady “clothed in dazzling white, with a yellow sash around her waist. She had a crown ofstars around her head, and her long golden wavy hair fell loosely over her shoulders”(https://championshrine.org/our-story/). Adele asked the meaning behind the lady’s visit.The woman…
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